Samurai Jack 4.X

Genndy's Roundtable

55 minutes

This is a special feature in the DVD set for season 4 of Samurai Jack. It is a roundtable discussion with show runner Genndy Tartakovsky and six of the artists who worked on the show. They introduce themselves and talk about some of the challenges and triumphs they experienced while working on the show. A scenes from a few episodes are shown in the course of telling stories about working on the show: Jack and the Three Blind Archers, Chicken Jack, Jack and the Rave, The Birth of Evil, Tale of X-49.

I met Andy Suriano, one of the artists, at Heroes Con several years ago. I bought a print from him of Jack and Aku which I still have.

I really like this feature. I don't recall if I had watched it before. It didn't drag in the least bit. It was fun to hear these artists talk about their work.

Samurai Jack 4.13

LII: Jack and the Baby

Jack rescues a baby from ogres who are getting ready to cook the baby. Jack goes looking for the baby's mother. He entertains the baby with the story of Momotaro, a story which Jack's mother used to tell him. Jack struggles to find milk for the baby.

Jack and the baby eventually find themselves back in the woods where they first met and where the ogres live. Jack battles the ogres once again. This time he makes sure that they will never harm the baby again. The episode ends with the baby's mother showing up and Jack walking off over the horizon.

Samurai Jack 4.12

LI: Young Jack in Africa

Young Jack is taken by a friend of his father to live and train with an African chieftain and his people. It takes Jack time to accept his new surroundings. The chieftain's son, who is about Jack's age, doesn't warm to Jack as quickly as his father but eventually they become friends.

One night, after Jack has been there for some time, the village is attacked. The attackers are also humans but they work for Aku. They carry bladed weapons that they spin above their heads and that have large flat sides. Jack is the only one to evade capture. Jack follows the attackers back to their village.

Jack steals one of the attackers weapons, trains with it, and then comes back to free his new friends. 

Samurai Jack 4.11

L: Tale of X-49

X-49, a robot heavy who used to work for Aku, comes out of retirement for one last job: kill Samurai Jack. X-49 was the best of the X line of robots, possibly beause he had been given an emotion chip. It made him sensitive in a way that the other robots were not. His fellow robots were eventually killed off. He retired and spent his time in retirement with Lulu, his dog.

X-49 agrees to come out of retirement and hunt Jack down after Aku kidnaps Lulu. He tracks down Jack. The confrontation occurs in an old robot factory. Jack, in the end, proves to be a little little too quick for X-49.

Samurai Jack 4.10

XLIX: The Four Seasons of Death

Summer... Jack crosses a desert. He is attacked by creatures which look real. Jack eventually comes to the realization that the heat is making him see things that aren't really there.

Fall... An evil-looking scientist, who lives in a windmill, makes a mixture. He uses the it to infect a nearby well. Jack comes along and takes a drink from the well. He collapses but when the scientist moves in to get a closer look at Jack he discovers that all is not as it seems.

Winter... Miners, blacksmiths, and wizards work to create a mighty sword but it is no match for Jack's magic blade.

Spring... Jack is passing through a thorny wood when he encounters a magical woman who convinces him to stay a while. She gets very angry when he tries to leave.

Thoughts

Aku shows up very briefly in this episode.

This is different. There is no single thread that binds these four stories together. They each have their own flavor. I vaguely remember this one from the last time I watched it, years ago. 

Samurai Jack 4.09

XLVIII: Jack vs. Aku

Aku tires of watching his minions fail to kill Jack. He proposes a duel in which Jack cannot use his sword. Jack accepts provided that Aku cannot use his super powers, receive assistance from his minions, or fight Jack as anything other than a human.

Samurai Jack 4.08

XLVII: Jack and the Flying Prince and Princess

Prince Astor and Princess Verbina, siblings, are sent by their parents, the rulers of the planet Chrystallis to find the Royal Navy. Their mission goes awry and they wind up on Earth. Jack sees them crash land but some of Aku's minions get to the royal siblings before him.

Samurai Jack 4.07

XLVI: The Scotsman Saves Jack - Part 2

The ship takes Jack and the Scotsman to the region of the ocean known as the Great Unknown. They hear music as they near an island. Everyone is hypnotized by the music except the Scotsman who says it sounds like a screaming cat.

Everyone disembarks once they arrive at the island. They take all their gold and treasure with them. They walk to a cave where they find a trio of singing women. Everyone is still hypnotized, except the Scotsman. The women get angry at him for insulting them and not falling prey to their magical voices. They order the others to attack the him.

Samurai Jack 4.06

XLV: The Scotsman Saves Jack - Part 1

The Scotsman finds Jack on a ship. Jack has lost his memory and his sword. He insists that his name is Brent Worthington. The Scotsman takes him on a quest to find out what happened to him. Jack doesn't want to go but the Scotsman forces him.

Samurai Jack 4.05

XLIV: The Princess and the Bounty Hunters

Six bounty hunters argue over who has the best plan to capture Samurai Jack before deciding to work together to catch him.

The episode is that simple. Their plan of course fails. They are no match for Jack.

Samurai Jack 4.04

XLIII: The Aku Infection

Jack gets infected with some of Aku's evil. Aku was sick and coughed up a little bit of his evil which Jack accidentally inhaled. Jack slowly starts to transform into an Aku-like being. The transformation is almost complete when he arrives at a monastery. The monks try to help him but ultimately Jack has to cure himself. 

Samurai Jack 4.03

XLII: Samurai versus Samurai

Jack meets Da Samurai, a loud mouthed man who claims to be a samurai. Da Samurai watches Jack take down a trio of bounty hunter robots but he isn't impressed. He wants to fight. Jack reluctantly agrees but insists that they will fight with bamboo staffs instead of swords. More robots show up to capture or kill Jack after he defeats the Da Samurai. Jack deals with the robots all by himself.

Samurai Jack 4.02

XLI: Robo-Samurai versus Mondo-Bot

Jack battles Mondo-Bot, a giant killer robot. He is almost killed but a couple of human-sized robots save him. Mondo-Bot was built to defend their city, Andromeda, but something went wrong. Mondo-Bot now tries to destroy all he sees.

Samurai Jack 4.01

XL: Samurai versus Ninja

Aku sends a ninja to kill Samurai Jack. The ninja is getting ready to strike when he is interrupted by a boy running from giant lobster-like robots. Jack, unaware of the ninja, stops to help the boy. He then follows the boy back to his village where he fights and destroys more giant lobster-like robots. The ninja follows Jack back to the village but remains hidden while Jack battles the robots.